Released inmate caught, deputies investigate mistake

On Monday night, deputies caught an inmate who had been missing for three days after a supervisor at the Criminal Justice Complex mistakenly released him.

Terron Derell Kinnie, 29, was released at 9 p.m. Friday, according to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. He most recently had been arrested on charges of theft, marijuana possession and lying to police about his name. According to online records, Kinnie began serving an eight-year sentence in state prison on a second-degree murder conviction in 2004.

“We are actively investigating why this (mistake) occurred,” Sheriff’s Office Lt. Jerry Elston said on Monday. “We are going to see if there were policy procedures violated and who violated them, and at that time we will address the issue internally to ensure that it does not occur again.”

Elston provided a chronological rundown of Kinnie’s initial arrest leading up to his release and capture.

Kinnie was arrested at Wal-Mart North in January and charged with theft. He additionally was charged with criminal impersonation because he gave police a false name, Elston said. Bond was set for $5,000, which Kinnie paid.

On June 30, Kinnie was indicted by the Madison County grand jury on the charges of theft and criminal impersonation. He was scheduled for an arraignment in Circuit Court on July 7.

Kinnie did not appear for his arraignment, Elston said. A capias was issued on a charge of failure to appear, which directed that Kinnie be arrested and held without bond.

On July 8, the Jackson Police Department stopped Kinnie, served him with the capias and took him into custody.

During the arrest, Kinnie again gave a false name, and police found marijuana on him, Elston said. They charged him with simple possession of marijuana and a second charge of criminal impersonation in addition to the previous charges.

Kinnie was given a $20,000 bond on the marijuana possession and the second count of criminal impersonation in Jackson City Court.

On July 11, Kinnie was arraigned in Circuit Court on the original charges from January. At that time the court addressed his failure to appear and ordered that he be held without bond.

On Friday, a bondsman went to the J. Alexander Leech Criminal Justice Complex/Jail to post the $20,000 bond that covered the second set of charges from July 8.

“As they were processing the bond, our people missed that the failure to appear was still active, and he was released,” Elston said.

The Sheriff’s Office received a tip that Kinnie could be found at the corner of Lincoln and Booker streets. Kinnie ran to try to avoid arrest, but officers were able to apprehend him, Elston said.

Elston said Kinnie has been returned the Criminal Justice Complex, and it will be determined if he will face any additional charges.

Elston said that inmates have been mistakenly released in the past.

“It’s a rare occurrence,” Elston said. “We take every step we can to make sure it is not a continuous or everyday thing. There have been investigations on every one, and every incident resulted in some degree of disciplinary action based on the seriousness of the offense.”